I love to embrace each season, to revel in the cycles of nature and the turning of the year - but I have to admit that sometimes winter can really get me down. Day after day of grey skies and dark mornings and early sunsets and cold...brrrrrr! So how to I keep myself from slipping into a full-blown case of the Winter Blues? Well, I have a few tricks up my sleeve.
1 - Simmering citrus and spices to scent your home. This will add some needed humidity to dry winter air, along with the wonderful invigorating scents. I use citrus peels and cinnamon sticks in a small saucepan of water. Studies show that citrusy scents make us feel more energized and productive, especially in the winter months. Some folks prefer to use essential oils, but you don't need them if you use the peels from the citrus you are eating or juicing. I save peels in a freezer baggie and simmer a small handful each day. Oranges, grapefruit, clementines - separately or mixed they all smell wonderful simmering away on the stovetop.
2 - Turn on the music and dance! I usually prefer classical music in the morning, as it lends itself to creative thinking - but some mornings you just need something that makes your toes tap and your body wiggle. Play your favorite tunes - turn up the volume, dance around the kitchen, and sing passionately to your spoon - who cares if you are on key? Just let go and have fun with it! Sure, the children may think you are crazy - but they will laugh when you do-si-do them around the room, and you will feel amazing after a few minutes of carefree fun. A little aerobic activity each morning is key to a productive day, so why not make it a chance to have some goofy fun instead of just another chore to slog through?
3 - Open up all the curtains - let the sun shine in. We suffer from the lack of sunshine during the long dark days of winter - so make sure you grab every bit you can. Open up the curtains and raise the blinds! For bonus points, have small pots of greenery around your windows. If your windows look streaky or cloudy, give them a quick wash so they sparkle (I like using Windex wipes for a quick clean when the fireplace soot turns our windows into smoked glass). I like to spend a 3-5 minutes in a sunny window at different times of the day, just breathing deeply and soaking in the light - a sort of mental min-vacation that helps to stave off more serious Winter Blues.
4 - Put something colorful and living on the table. Flowers are lovely if you have them, or a colorful potted plant. I have oranges, so I heap them into a handsome blue and white bowl and tucked in some bits of greenery I cut from an evergreen out front. Hubs thought it was weird when I first did this (you're decorating the oranges for Christmas?) but now he likes it. I put all sorts of produce in attractive bowls or on pretty platters on the table or countertops to add splashes of color - tomatoes, oranges, apples. I never buy produce for this purpose (who can afford to waste money and food that way?) rather I display what we currently have on hand for eating purposes. No reason my oranges can't brighten my morning as well as be a delicious treat, right?
5 - Stir up a quick batch of muffins and let the warm scents of baking cheer up and warm up your whole home. I keep frozen blueberries on hand for muffins (I stock up whenever they are on sale, and I freeze what I can from summer), and when I don't want blueberries I use my home-made applesauce or canned pumpkin or mashed bananas. Not used to baking from scratch? Its easy - trust me - and you probably have everything you need already. Muffins take 5 minutes to prep and about 20 minutes to bake (and you don't have to watch them bake). My favorite basic recipe is below.
Feel a little SUNSHINE in your day now?
6 - Take your Vitamin D3. I know - I said 5 tips, but this one is too important to ignore. We get less sun, so we have lower levels of Vitamin D - which means we are more likely to catch a cold or a flu, more likely to become depressed, more likely to have asthma flare-ups. Vitamin D is crucial for our immune system, so make sure you supplement. I take 1000mg of Vitamin D3 in the morning and another 1000 mg with dinner - do your research or ask your doctor what is right for you. Better yet? Take supplements and make sure to eat fish every week - we have fun making fish dishes and play Caribbean Music to set a bright mood.
There are lots of ways to banish Winter Blues - I hope you enjoyed my tips, and please share yours in the comments below.
Have a wonderful day!
Basic Muffins Recipe (makes 12 standard muffins, or 1 quick loaf)
Ingredients
2 cups unbleached flour
1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar (to taste)
2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1-2 tsp spices (optional - for apple or banana muffins I add cinnamon and allspice)
1 cup milk (you can also use juice for a taste treat, lemon with blueberries or orange with cranberries)
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1 cup "goodies" (blueberries, chopped apples, mashed banana, cranberries, etc)
Method
Preheat overn to 400F and either line a standard muffin tin with papers or grease the tin (spray, butter, oil - all are fine).
Stir together all the dry ingredients.
Make a "well" in the middle of the bowl and pour in the milk, oil and egg.
Use a fork to pierce the egg yolk and stir the wet ingredients in the "well" until lightly mixed. Then stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until all is mixed and moist, but do not over-mix - there can be a few tiny lumps, but you don't want to see dry flour.
Add the "goodies" and mix til they seem evenly distributed.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin. You can use a ladle or a scoop to make it easier.
Bake for about 20 minutes. The muffins are done when a tester (skewer, dry spaghetti, chopstick, whatever) that it poked into one muffin all the way to the bottom comes our clean (no wet batter sticking to it - crumbs are ok).
No comments:
Post a Comment